Review: Hostel

I watched Hostel last night and was disappointed. I am a horror fan and also a big fan on Tarantino so imagine my excitement when I heard that there was a movie combining both. I do feel though that this excitement and hype built up may have biased my view but not to a large extent. I’ll try not to give too many spoilers. The basic story is that two american college (UNI) mates set off on a backpacking trip through Europe to gain exciting travel memories. They hop from hostel to hostel chasing the dream and end up in an out of the way hostel in Slovakia. There they enjoy some exotic beauties and find out that the hostel is not all that it seems. The movie started actually much like a documentary and with some weak dialogue which was surprising. And then the movie struggled along not really adding much to the characters for another hour and the half. Following this the gory part starts and you start wondering why are the characters doing what they are doing? Granted in a classical horror movie you question why after escaping the killer, the damsel in distress goes back in the house (and you start shouting at the screen) but this was questioning the actions of the killer. After the explosion of what I would call comedy horror like Scream and I know what you did last summer I was eagerly awaiting the return to classic horror and welcomed movies like Saw, the grudge, the ring, the village etc but hostel just did not deliver. Granted there were the classic Tarantino dialogue and action which sometimes made we wonder whether there was an action movie raring to burst out but the ending just did not justify the movie. Had I not seen the interview with Eli Roth and how he come upon the idea for the movie I totally would not have understood the movie. So for this I’ll give 6.5 out of 10 for its underdeveloped characters and plot. It’s very gory so not for the fait hearted and I recommend you wait till the DVD goes on sale at HMV in the 3 for £20 or ex-rental at blockbuster before you try.